We had one of the strongest squads, especially as regards to the Indian selection- Westwood
The hosts will be playing for pride while the Islanders still have an outside shot at the playoffs.
Defending champions ATK welcome Mumbai City FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday. The two-time champions have had a season of woes, blighted by injuries, that have almost taken them out of contention for their fourth consecutive playoff berth. They are winless in their last five encounters and will look give in their all in an attempt to gift their fans something to cheer about.
During the pre-match press conference, addressing the media was their interim head-coach Ashley Westwood, who spoke about the motivation for his side. “We have personal pride as professional footballers at the end of the day,” he began. “You want to win games. If you are not firing all cylinders, if you are not playing correctly, you cannot win a football match. To do that you have to give your best and work really hard. And for me, that’s enough motivation.”
Also Read
ATK and Mumbai battle for pride at the Mecca of Indian football
High flying Chennaiyin host playoff chasing Jamshedpur
Five underlying reasons for ATK's calamitous season in ISL 4
He also explained what had gone wrong for ATK since the start of the season. “I think when we picked the players, we picked them on merit,” explained the Englishman. “I was happy with the draft; we had one of the strongest squads, especially as regards to the Indian selection. But for one reason or the other, bad luck maybe, a few got injured and a few took a while to get going.”
[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]Westwood however, added, “But certainly for the four games I have been around, I have found a steady improvement. They have grown stronger and I expect them to put in a strong performance tomorrow.”
Regarding injuries, the 41-year-old had some mixed news. “Robbie (Keane) has kind of joined in the squad this morning and we kind of expect him to be there for the Delhi game. He’s not fit enough for tomorrow. It looks like Tom Thorpe might have picked up an injury today. He may or may not be okay. We need to have a look,” he revealed.
Latest News
- "It’s unfair to receive ultimatum from Bayern," says Alphonso Davies agent
- Arsenal injury update ahead of Manchester City clash; Bukayo Saka remains doubtful
- Cristiano Ronaldo’s top 10 most memorable performances
- I-League 2023-24: Sergio Barboza's hat-trick helps Delhi FC overcome Lajong challenge
- Who has been the top scorer each year since turn of the millennium?
Trending Articles
- Saudi club offers massive €100m per season salary deal to Robert Lewandowski
- Which Indian football team players have played under current Afghanistan boss Ashley Westwood?
- FIFA World Cup 2026 & AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers: 21 March All results
- One record Jurgen Klopp could not break as Liverpool manager
Editor Picks